Machine for driving tie plugs



Dec. 17, 1963 H. H. ELLIOTT 3,114,331

MACHINE FOR DRIVING TIE PLUGS Filed Sept. 8, 1959 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 Dec. 17, 1963 H. H. ELLIOTT MACHINE FOR DRIVING TIE PLUGS 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Sept. 8, 1959 I WE a NW sw R Dec. 17, 1963 H. H. ELLIOTT 3,114,331

MACHINE FOR DRIVING TIE PLUGS Filed Sept. 8, 1959 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 Dec. 17, 1963 H. H. ELLIOTT 1 MACHINE FOR DRIVING TIE PLUGS Filed Sept. 8,. 1959 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Jam/2101 United States Patent Ofiice 3,114,331 Patented Dec. 17, 1963 3,114,331 MACHINE FOR DRIVING TIE PLUGS Hebert H. Elliott, Elko, Nev., assignor to Fairmont Railway Motors, Inc., Fairmont, Minn., a corporation of Niinnesota Filed Sept. 8, 1959, Ser. No. 38,535 Claims. (Cl. 10417) The invention relates generally to mechanism for driving wooden plugs into holes in the ties of a railway track.

In re-laying rails of a railway track it is the customary practice to remove one rail and the tie plates upon which the rail was supported, leaving the opposite rail in position. The remaining rail is frequently used as a support for work vehicles of various kinds which are used to perform certain operations which pertain to the reconditioning of the track when new rails are to be laid.

After the removal of the spikes, rail, and the tie plates from the adjacent end of the ties, the adzed tie surfaces, upon which the tie plates rested, are exposed and present a plurality of holes in the places where the spikes were located prior to withdrawal. Prior to the replacement of the tie plates and the placement of the new rail, it is the practice to plug the spike holes with wooden pegs. The conventional practice has been for workmen manually to partially insert into the holes wooden pegs, and for other workmen to drive them into final position by means of a maul, hammer, or the like.

The general objection to the conventional practice of plugging the spike holes is that it is wholly a manual operation, is relatively slow, and hence, expensive; also, at times when the workman manually partially inserts the wooden plug into the spike hole, it is not exactly perpendicular, so that the following workman, who hammers it home with a hammer, maul, or other tool, in some instances more or less crushes the plug so that the spike hole is not properly plugged as intended.

The general object of the present invention is to provide mechanism which will facilitate the operation of driving plugs into holes which were formed by the withdrawn spikes.

A further object of the invention is to provide mechanism for the above purpose which will enable a lesser number of men to be able to drive a given number of tie plugs than is possible in the practice heretofore prevailing.

Again it is an object of the invention to provide mechanism which, with the plug to be driven, can be properly aligned with the opening in the tie so that it may be driven into position, closing the hole in the tie Without danger of fracturing or breaking the tie plug.

A further object of the invention is to provide a driving mechanism which can be readily carried by a vehicle adapted to operate on that rail of the railroad track which remains in place, thus facilitating the movement of the apparatus longitudinally of the railway.

Still another object of the invention is to provide mechanism for driving tie plugs which may be operated from a conventional type of means for supplying fluid pressure to actuate the necessary operative parts.

A still further object of the invention is to provide mechanism which is adapted to receive a stick comprising a plurality of tie plugs, together with means for shearing tie plugs successively from the stick and moving them into position to be driven by fluid-actuated driving mechanism.

The above-mentioned objects and others, and the manner in which they are attained, will be understood by reference to the accompanying drawings which illustrate one embodiment of the invention.

FIGURE 1 is a top plan view of the machine embodying the invention as positioned for operation on a railroad track;

FIG. 2 is an elevational view on the line 22 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a vertical sectional view on the line 33 of FIG. 1 on enlarged scale, the same being through the plug driving head;

FIG. 4 is a view similar to FIG. 3 but showing the parts in a different position;

FIG. 5 is a view on the line 5-5 of FIG. 3;

FIG. 6 is a detail sectional view on the line 6-6 of FIG. 5;

FIG. 7 is a top plan view as seen on the line 7-7 of FIG. 3;

FIG. 8 is a detail sectional view on the line 8-8 of FIG. 3;

FIG. 9 is a transverse sectional view on the line 99 of FIG. 3; and

FIG. 10 is a schematic view illustrating the various elements, the fluid lines connecting the elements and valve mechanism for controlling the fluid flow.

As here shown, the machine comprises a vehicle designated generally by the numeral 10, having a pair of flanged wheels 11 adapted to ride on the rail 12 which remains in place on the tie plates 13 disposed on the ties 14.

Adjacent the opposite end of each tie is an adzed surface 15 on which part the tie plate 13 rested, the tie in this area including a plurality of holes 16 which were left in tie upon the removal or" the spikes.

The purpose of-the invention is to provide mechanism with which to plug the openings 16 with wooden tie plugs.

The general mechanisms for driving the tie plugs comprise a prime mover 26 which may be a gasoline engine and means for compressing a fluid which may be an air compressor 21 driven from the prime mover by means of suitable pulleys 22, 23, and interconnecting belt 24.

The air compressor 21 is connected by a line 25 to charge the air reservoir 26, the latter being connected to an air-control valve 27 by a line 28 to the control valve 27, which in turn is connected to the driving head 29 in such way that, when the control lever 30 is in one position it will serve to actuate means to shear oil one of the tie plugs and to place it in line with a hammer plunger which has been aligned with the hole in the tie to be plugged.

Movement of the lever 30 to a second position causes the driving of the plug into the tie hole, and movement of the control valve to a third position restores the parts to another operating position. A more detailed description of the parts will follow.

We believe that this general description will be sufficient to facilitate an understanding of the mechanism, a detailed explanation of which now follows:

The Vehicle As here shown, the vehicle 10 comprises a framing which includes side members Bil-50 interconnected by a plurality of cross members 52, 53 54, 55, and 56. From this generally rectangular framing there extends a subframe comprising side members 57, 58, cross-connected by an end member '59. Between the side members 57 and 58 there is a member 6% of boxlike cross section into which there telescopes members 61, which travel as a unit, and to the end of which there is attached the driving head structure 29 which will be described in more detail later.

Supported from the vehicle subframe above, adjacent one end thereof, is the air-control valve 27. it is supported rigidly from the vehicle subframe by means of the upright members 65 and incl ned members 66 and 67. The upper end of member 67 terminates in a handle portion 68, horizontally disposed, and which is in a position to be grasped in one hand of the operator whilst the other hand of the operator is in position to actuate the control lever 30 of the air-control valve 27, as will be explained in detail later.

Air under pressure is supplied to the valve 27 by means of the main supply line 23.

Construction of the Driving Head This unit, which as a whole bears the numeral 29, is best shown in FIGS. 3 to 9 inclusive. It comprises an elongated body 76 having an elongated bore 71 therein, the upper end of whch is closed by a member 72. In the member '72 there is a horizontally disposed bore 73 in which there is positioned for sliding movement a piston 74 having a piston rod 75' projecting from one end of the cylinder bore 73 and pivotally connected to the upper end of a shear lever 75. The shear lever 76 carries a shear blade 77 at the bottom, the lever 76 being pivoted intermediate its ends on pivot 73, carried by the bracket 79 supported from the body portion of the driving head.

Entering into one end of the cylinder bore 73 is a port 73A, and connected to communicate with the opposite end is a port or conduit 73C.

Mounted for vertical sliding movement in the bore 71 is an elongated plunger comprising an upper piston portion 80, a lower plug driving portion Sll.

It will be understood that the elongated element just described is intended to reciprocate in the bore 71. Leading into the top of the bore is a conduit or port 7113. A port 711) is connected to the conduit 71X, the lower end of which, at 71L, communicates with the bore 71.

Parallelling the bore 71 in which the driving member reciprocates, is a vertical chamber or magazine 9th adapted to receive a stick 91, which comprises a number of tie plugs 92, the lowermost one of which is adapted to be supported from the portion 93 of the member 94, secured to and forming an extension of the driving head body structure.

The driving head 29 is movable toward and away from the rail-engaging wheel end of the vehicle, i.e., transversely of the track, which is longitudinally of the tie by means of the hand crank actuatable rod 109, the end portion 101 of which is provided with screw threads to operate in the threaded element 162 connected to the boxlike member 60.

It is believed that an explanation of the schematic view FIGURE 10 will facilitate an understanding of the manner in which the apparatus is intended to function.

Description Schematic View, FIG.

Referring to FIG. 10, it will be observed, as before explained, that the prime mover 2%, through pulleys 22, 23, and belt 24, serves to operate the air compressor 21. The compressed air is conducted by line to the reservoir 26, a relief valve 25 being inserted in the line for safety purposes. As is customary, the reservoir 25 is provided with a gauge 26G and a drain 26D.

The air-control valve 27 is connected to the reservoir by the main supply line 23 in which is there positioned a conventional filter 2815. Port 73C is connected to valve 27 by a line 110C, the port 73A, by a line 110A, the port 71B by a line 1183, and port 71D by a line 110D.

i 27X represents an exhaust port from the valve 27. For actuating the valve 27 there is a lever 36 which can be placed in three positions marked 1, 2, and 3 and shown, respectively, by full lines, dotted lines, and dot and dash lines.

In position No. 1 the air pressure is applied through port 73A and port 71D. Ports 71B and 730 will then be vented to atmosphere. This arrangement will result in swinging shear lever in a direction to cause shear portion 77 to shear the lowermost tie plug from the stick and move the stick into position under plunger 81, which will then be in its upper position.

When control lever 30 is moved to position No. 2 pressure will still be applied through port 73A, holding shear portion 17 in its innermost position. Pressure will also then be applied through port 718 which will drive piston 8t? downwardly and the connected piston rod or driving member 81 downwardly therewith, so that any tie plug in the path thereof will be forcibly driven downwardly. Ports 73C and 71D will then be vented to atmosphere.

Control lever 30 in position No. 3 will apply pressure through ports 73C and 71D, thus returning piston 74- to starting position at the rightand end of bore 74, and returning the shear lever 76 and shear portion 77 to the position shown in FIG. 4.

Description of Operation Assume that the machine is supported on the rail 12 by means of wheels 11, that the magazine is supplied with a plurality of the plugs in the form of an integral elongated stick; that the machine has been moved along the rail to a position where the driving head is over the adzed surface 15 of one of the ties containing holes which are to be plugged. Assume also that the driving head parts are in the position illustrated in FIG. 4 with the air valve control lever in position No. 3. Lever 3% can then be moved to position No. l which will swing shear lever 76 in a direction to move shear portion 77 inwardly, thus shearing the lowermost tie plug from the stick in the magazine and positioning it under the piston driving rod portion Si, as shown by means of dotted lines in FIG. 4, being thus guided by the surface 778 of the part 77 and the wall portions 94W of the member 94. The tie plug in line with the member '81 will fall by gravity until the lower portion engages the adzed surface of the underlying tie, as shown by means of dotted lines in MG. 4.

Thus the lower end of the tie plug will be visible to the operator so that he will be able to position it directly over one of the holes in the tie which is to be plugged. This may necessitate the moving of the vehicle longitudinally of the rails and/ or the movement of the driving head toward or away from that part of the vehicle which carries the rail-engaging wheels 11. If it be assumed that the vehicle is progressing in the direction of the arrow shown in FIG. 1, one way of operating would be first to locate the driving head, and tie plug to be driven, over that hole which, as viewed in plan, would be the first one met with and which is located nearest to the end of the tie. The lever 30 would then be moved to position No. 2, causing driving piston 30 and rod 81 downwardly to force the tie plug into the aligned hole, to plug that hole. Then move lever 30 to position No. 3, which will return the shear blade 77 and the driving rod 81 and piston to the full line position shown in FIG. 4, ready for another tie plug driving operation. Next, move the driving head longitudinally of the tie and move the lever 30 to position No. 1 to locate another tie plug to be driven over that hole which is aligned longitudinally of the tie with the hole first plugged. Move lever 30 to position No. 2 to drive the tie plug into the underlying aligned hole, move lever to position No. 3, advance the vehicle along the rail, and proceed in like manner to plug the next hole which is aligned transversely of the tie with the second hole plugged, and then move the driving head away from the wheel-supported part of the vehicle until the parts are in a position to plug the fourth hole, assuming that there are four holes to be plugged in each tie, as indicated in the drawlngs.

Further Comments re General Construction It is considered generally advisable to have the vehicle pretty well balanced on the opposite sides of the rail, and to this end, if necessary, counterweights may be afiixed, as indicated at 115.

In order properly to locate the lower end of the driving head relative to the tie, it may be advisable to provide a machine rest post, as indicated at 116. The post 116 comprises a plate member 117 and a cylindrical stud portion 118 adapted to telescope into the cylindrical member 119, the upper end of which is fixedly secured to the frame of the machine at 124 The plate 117 may be vertically adjusted by means of holes in a member 119 which can be aligned with similar holes in the studportion 118, a transverse pin being used to hold the parts in any set position.

It will be seen that the operator can stand with at least one foot on the tie adjacent the control valve 27 and be in a position conveniently to grip the handle portion 68 and also actuate the lever air valve control lever 30.

The operator is also in a position conveniently to manipulate a hand crank applied to the end of rod 100, as indicated in FIGS. 1 and 6.

In the description heretofore given it has been assumed that the tie plugs are in the form of a long stick comprising a plurality of tie plugs which are successively sheared from the stick as required. However, it would be possible to insert into the magazine a plurality of separate plugs in end-to-end alignment. In that event it would not be necessary for the blade 77 to exert a shearing action. However, the blade 77 would still serve to move the tie plug into position to be driven and it would also cooperate with the internal walls of member 94 in confining the tie plug, so that, on being driven, it would be guided in its downward movement for a considerable distance.

I claim:

1. A railway tie hole-plugging machine comprising a vehicle adapted to travel along a railway from which one rail has been removed from the ties, leaving spike holes in those end portions of the tie from which the other rail was removed, said vehicle including a frame and means for supporting the same upon at least the remaining rail, a substantially vertically disposed driving head secured to the vehicle frame for movement toward and away from the supporting means and so spaced from said supporting means that when the same is in supporting engagement with said one rail it is over and adjacent the other end of the tie, said driving head comprising a vertically disposed cylinder a piston positioned therein, a piston rod operatively connected to said piston, means carried on said vehicle for supplying fluid under pressure, valve controlled conduits leading from said fluid pressure supplying means for selectively supplying fluid to opposite ends of said piston to cause reciprocation of said piston and piston rod, a vertically disposed magazine positioned adjacent said cylinder for holding a plurality of headless tie plugs in end to end relation, means for laterally transferring the headless plugs, one at a time from the lower end of said magazine to a position substantially in vertical alignment with said piston rod when the same is in an upper position, means mounting the driving head for movement toward and away from said supporting means to enable alignment of the plug to be driven and the tie hole whereby when said piston moves downwardly the piston rod engages the headless tie plug and drives the same downwardly into the aligned spike hole.

2. A machine for driving plugs into spike openings of railway ties comprising a driving head including a cylinder adapted to be vertically disposed, a driving piston positioned in said cylinder for reciprocation therein, a piston rod projecting downward from said piston and operatively connected thereto to reciprocate therewith, ports com- 6 municating with opposite ends ofsaid cylinder whereby fluid under pressure can be admitted to the cylinder to cause reciprocation of the piston and piston rod, a substantially vertically disposed tie plug magazine adapted to hold a straight stick of a length to provide a plurality of tie plug portions, power actuated means for shearing and laterally transferring tie plug portions one by one in headless form from the lower end of the magazine accommodated stick to a position in substantially axial alignment with said piston rod when the piston rod is in an upper position, whereby when the said piston moves downwardly the end of the piston rod will engage and move the said tie plug portion downwardly substantially in the direction of the piston rod travel.

3. A machine for driving headless tie plugs into spike openings of railway ties comprising a driving member disposed for vertical guided reciprocation; an upright tie plug magazine adapted to hold a plurality of headless tie plugs in rectilinear end to end relation, power actuated means for laterally transferring said tie plugs in headless form one at a time from the magazine to a position in substantial alignment with the direction of movement of said driving member, means for actuating said driving member whereby on its downward movement it will engage the headless tie plug positioned thereunder and drive the same into an aligned opening in the underlying tie.

4. The combination set forth in claim 3 in which the magazine is adapted to hold a substantially straight stick of a length to provide a plurality of tie plug portions and in which said power actuated means is adapted to successively shear portions from the lower end of the stick to comprise individual headless tie plugs.

S. A machine for plugging an exposed spike opening formed in a railway tie, said machine comprising a movable frame, a substantially vertically disposed housing carried by said frame and adjustable relative thereto for alignment with respect to an exposed spike opening, said housing including an elongated substantially vertical ly disposed cylinder, a piston mounted for reciprocatory movement within said cylinder, an elongated hammer element depending from and movable with said piston and having the lower end thereof in slidable engagement with and projecting from the lower end of said cylinder, an elongated open end tie plug magazine spaced from said cylinder and having the longitudinal axis thereof substantially parallel to said cylinder for accommodating an elongated substantially rectilinear stick from which a plurality of headless tie plugs are formed, a laterally extending chamber disposed adjacent to and communicating with the lower end of said cylinder and magazine, said chamber being provided with an opening in axial alignment with the cylinder axis and adapted to be axially aligned with a selected exposed spike opening, said chamber opening being sized to slidably accommodate the projecting lower end of said hammer element, a power actuated transfer element mounted within said chamber for selective movement between two predetermined stations in a direction substantially transverse with respect to said magazine axis, said transfer element having a tie plug engaging side surface adapted, when said element is moving in one direction, to engage a portion of the magazineaccommodated stick; said transfer element, only when in one of said predetermined stations, having said tie plug engaging surface thereof disposed adjacent to and out of registration with said magazine lower end whereby the lower end portion of the magazine accommodated stick is free to drop by gravity into said chamber between said transfer element and the lower end of said cylinder and come to rest upon the bottom surface of said chamber, said transfer element, when in the second of said predetermined stations, having the tie plug engaging surface thereof juxtaposed the path of movement of said hammer element; said transfer element, when actuated from said one predetermined station to said second predetermined station, effecting shearing of said stick lower end portion from the remainder of the stick accommodated in said magazine and forming a headless tie plug and transferring such tie plug into an alignment with said chamber opening, and adjustable control means for sequentially actuating said transfer element and piston whereby said piston is actuated downwardly within said chamber subsequent to said transfer element having reached said second predetermined station.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 243,601 Newton June 28, 1881 8 Evans et a1 July 26, 1887 Forsyth July 27, 1920 Doak Jan. 31, 1922 Wakeman June 18, 1929 Jackson Oct. 22, 1935 McWilliams et a1 Feb. 16, 1960 Talboys Mar. 29, 1960 FOREIGN PATENTS Denmark Apr. 3, 1923 Great Britain Feb. 18, 1853 Great Britain Nov. 12, 1891 

1. A RAILWAY TIE HOLE-PLUGGING MACHINE COMPRISING A VEHICLE ADAPTED TO TRAVEL ALONG A RAILWAY FROM WHICH ONE RAIL HAS BEEN REMOVED FROM THE TIES, LEAVING SPIKE HOLES IN THOSE END PORTIONS OF THE TIE FROM WHICH THE OTHER RAIL WAS REMOVED, SAID VEHICLE INCLUDING A FRAME AND MEANS FOR SUPPORTING THE SAME UPON AT LEAST THE REMAINING RAIL, A SUBSTANTIALLY VERTICALLY DISPOSED DRIVING HEAD SECURED TO THE VEHICLE FRAME FOR MOVEMENT TOWARD AND AWAY FROM THE SUPPORTING MEANS AND SO SPACED FROM SAID SUPPORTING MEANS THAT WHEN THE SAME IS IN SUPPORTING ENGAGEMENT WITH SAID ONE RAIL IT IS OVER AND ADJACENT THE OTHER END OF THE TIE, SAID DRIVING HEAD COMPRISING A VERTICALLY DISPOSED CYLINDER A PISTON POSITIONED THEREIN, A PISTON ROD OPERATIVELY CONNECTED TO SAID PISTON, MEANS CARRIED ON SAID VEHICLE FOR SUPPLYING FLUID UNDER PRESSURE, VALVE CONTROLLED CONDUITS LEADING FROM SAID FLUID PRESSURE SUPPLYING MEANS FOR SELECTIVELY SUPPLYING FLUID TO OPPOSITE ENDS OF SAID PISTON TO CAUSE RECIPROCATION OF SAID PISTON AND PISTON ROD, A VERTICALLY DISPOSED MAGAZINE POSITIONED ADJACENT SAID CYLINDER FOR HOLDING A PLURALITY OF HEADLESS TIE PLUGS IN END TO END RELATION, MEANS FOR LATERALLY TRANSFERRING THE HEADLESS PLUGS, ONE AT A TIME FROM THE LOWER END OF SAID MAGAZINE TO A POSITION SUBSTANTIALLY IN VERTICAL ALIGNMENT WITH SAID PISTON ROD WHEN THE SAME IS IN AN UPPER POSITION, MEANS MOUNTING THE DRIVING HEAD FOR MOVEMENT TOWARD AND AWAY FROM SAID SUPPORTING MEANS TO ENABLE ALIGNMENT OF THE PLUG TO BE DRIVEN AND THE TIE HOLE WHEREBY WHEN SAID PISTON MOVES DOWNWARDLY THE PISTON ROD ENGAGES THE HEADLESS TIE PLUG AND DRIVES THE SAME DOWNWARDLY INTO THE ALIGNED SPIKE HOLE. 